Trio tied for first Sanya Ladies Open

A trio of players leads at the LET Sanya Ladies Open in Hainan, China after a closely contested first round at the Yalong Bay Golf Club on Friday.

Thailand’s Thidapa Suwannapura and Pavarisa Yoktuan, and the USA’s Amelia Lewis all carded five-under 67’s to take a one-shot lead into the second round.

Suwannapura was the first to finishing, setting the target with one bogey on the fifth and six birdies, including two on the 17th and 18th holes to cap of a excellent round.

“It was a good day for golf, the weather was great and the wind wasn’t too strong, so there were a few chances to make birdie, but you cannot expect anything from this course because it’s not easy,” Suwannapura told the Ladies European Tour website.

“I did have some back pain and it went all the way to my feet so if you followed me on the course you would see I kept stretching my back on almost every hole.”

World number six Shanshan Feng is currently one of nine players tied for 15th place on two-under, after she shot three birdies and a bogey to card a 70.

“I would say overall I did okay. Two under is not a super good score but it’s not bad,” Feng said.

“My problem today was not hitting the balls close to the pins so I didn’t have that many birdie chances, but I still made three, and a bogey on a par five. I still have two more days, so more chances.”